Is it possible to use your LinkedIn profile to grow your business? Absolutely! The problem is, the network is focused on helping you to get hired. So if you're already hired - you're running your own business and you want to connect with clients and grow your business, your approach to LinkedIn needs to be a little different.

This is my guide to how you can configure your LinkedIn profile to perfectly support you and your business. It's geared toward freelancers and small-to-medium business owners. If you are in fact looking for a job, many of these tips will still be of value to you.

What +Stephan Hovnanian said. Since today is my first day in the new business (this is +Michael J. Coffey, BTW), I updated my employment dates and thought, "Wow. There's work to do here..." Then this comes across my stream not more than 30 minutes later. Perfect timing, +Mike Allton!﻿

+Mark Vang nope, no way. If that was the only benefit for my money, it wouldn't even be a consideration.

But the truth is, that's not the only benefit. I originally upgraded so that I could test it and blog about it, but plan to keep my Premium account for all of the other benefits in addition to the cover photo.

And yep, Premium members stand out more in LinkedIn search results, just Authors used to stand out in Google search results.